Where We Belong

Wake-up Call

Harper thinks about the kiss again. She not only wanted that kiss but she has been hoping for it plus so much more and regardless of how complicated everything feels right now, she knows that Declan's right. Gillian actually kissed her. This is when the realization finally hits her. "Oh my god, I am such an idiot." She mumbles under her breath.

Declan hears shuffling on the other side of the door and after a moment, Harper finally opens the door to find him with a smug smirk on his face. "Aha, it finally got you in that thick head of yours just now, did it?" Declan walks past her into the condo and his tone changes to a more serious one. "You need to fix this, Harper. And you have to do it right now. Gillian said that you haven't been returning any of her messages and the only time that you've talked to her since the party is when you asked for time off. She thinks she's really screwed things up between you two. You can't just let her keep thinking that. You need to go and fix it. Now."

"God...what? She didn't screw anything up. I did. I've been avoiding her because I didn't know how to face her. I didn't want her to tell me that she just wanted to be friends, Declan. Because that's not what I want. I want her."

Declan grins. "It's about time you confessed. Jace, if you want her, go and get her." He urges.

Harper feels dejected as she walks over to the sofa and sits. Then she feels angry tears start to sting her eyes. How could she be so stupid? She has not only forced herself to forget about what happened but she has shut Gillian out completely in the process. How is she ever going to win Gillian over after being such a complete ass? "I don't know how to fix it. And I don't even know if it can be fixed. Gillian probably hates me right now. I'm such an idiot."

Declan sits down next to her and pulls her close. "Hey... first of all, you need to stop all of this with the tears and shit. You know that I can't stand to see a pretty girl cry." His teasing only makes things worse and Harper is now turning her face into him and sobbing into his shoulder. His heart is breaking at the sight of it. "You know, we closed the bar early so she could go home and finish up some last minute packing. And she doesn't leave for Vancouver until tomorrow morning. You can always just go over there and talk to her. Maybe tell her how you really feel. You know, finally tell her the truth." He suggests.

"What could I possibly say to her that would make up for ignoring her for so long? She has every right to just slam the door in my face."

Declan nods. "That she does. But I'll bet you a pint that right now, hate is the last thing she is feeling when it comes to you." There is silence for a moment and all you can hear is Harper snuffling, the tears finally subsiding.

"Maybe I can just wait for her to get back. Tell her after Christmas." Harper finally says, more to herself than to Declan.

Declan shakes his head at her. "Don't tell me that you're just going to give up now. You really want to just leave it like this? On Christmas Eve?"

Harper sighs. "It's Christmas Eve..." She says this quietly to herself and then remembers that she had promised herself months ago that she would not allow Gillian to spend this night alone. "FUCK." She jumps up grabbing her jacket and her keys. Then she runs into the bedroom and grabs her wallet and the gift she has had wrapped and ready for Gillian. When she reappears, Declan is standing there smiling at her. She hugs him tightly and thanks him. Then she is out the door. The last thing that he hears is Harper yelling from the driveway to him. "Lock up for me on your way out!" She says.

Relieved and hopeful that he has somehow helped with this Christmas miracle, Declan texts Skylar to tell her that he has done all that he can and that it is up to Harper now.

***

By the time Harper makes it to Gillian's front door, she is anxious and nearly out of breath. Part of that is because the closest parking spot she can find is at the bottom of a hill about a quarter of a mile away but she knows that her racing heart has more to do with what she plans to say to the person on the other side of the door, than it does from her jog from the car. She composes herself and tries to calm her nerves with a little encouragement. "You can do this, Jace. Just tell her how you feel." After a minute or two, she finally just takes a deep breath and knocks on the door.